Friday, December 2
LOUISVILLE, KY
7 p.m.
University of Louisville
vs
Samford
Photo by: Taris Smith | Louisville Athletics
No. 2 Seeded Louisville Set to Host Samford in NCAA Opening Round
November 30, 2022 | Women's Volleyball
2022_Louisville_VB_Notes_for_NCAA_First_and_Second_Rounds.pdfLouisville_Volleyball_Stats_At_End_of_Regular_Season.pdf
Cards play at L&N Arena at 7 p.m.; Purdue takes on Tennessee at 4 p.m.
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – The No. 2 overall seed and the No. 4-ranked University of Louisville volleyball team is set to make its 31st NCAA Tournament appearance, hosting Samford, Tennessee, and Purdue for the first and second rounds of the NCAA tournament on Friday, Dec. 2 and Saturday, Dec. 3 at L&N Federal Credit Union Arena.
Tentative times are listed as Tennessee versus Purdue at 4 p.m. ET and Louisville versus Samford at 7 p.m. The winners of the first round will play on Saturday at 6 p.m.
How We Got Here
Louisville clinched its third straight ACC Volleyball Championship title with a 3-0 win against Notre Dame on Wednesday, Nov. 23. The Cardinals finished the regular season 26-2 and 17-1 in conference play to share the ACC title with Pittsburgh.
A Look at the Competition
Samford Bulldogs
The Samford volleyball team earned an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament with a 3-0 win over Furman to the Southern Conference Tournament Title. In his seventh season with the Bulldogs, head coach Keylor Chan has led Samford to five SoCon Tournament titles. The Bulldogs finish the regular season with a 19-12 record (11-5 SoCon) and are led by Kenya McQuirter, who was named the SoCon Tournament MVP. The outside hitter has 439 kills, 75 digs, and 41 blocks on the season. Kate Morgan, the SoCon Libero of the Year has 71 assists, 49 aces, and 514 digs on the season.
Tennessee Volunteers
Tennessee enters the tournament with an at-large bid finishing the regular season 17-13 (11-7 SEC). Led by head coach Eve Rackham Watt in her fifth season, the Volunteers make their second consecutive trip to the NCAA for the first back-to-back tournament appearance since 2011 and 2012. Tennessee is led by 6-1 senior Morgahn Fingall who has 458 kills hitting .300, 38 aces, 217 digs, and 73 blocks on the season. Ranked No. 17 in the NCAA in kills per set (4.36), Fingall was an All-SEC honoree and the SEC Scholar-Athlete of the Year. Keondreya Granberry, named to the SEC All-Freshman team, leads the Volunteers in blocking with 97 blocks and adds 140 kills hitting .323.
Purdue Boilermakers
Purdue, seeded No. 8 in the Louisville quarter, finished the season 20-10 (11-9 B1G) and earned an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament. Head Coach Dave Shondell is in his 20th year at the helm and has led Purdue to 17 NCAA Tournament berths. The Boilermakers are led by freshman Eva Hudson who is ranked No. 17 in the NCAA in points (546). The native of Indiana leads the team in kills with 480 through the season and adds 33 aces, 230 digs, and 59 blocks. Sophomore middle blocker Raven Colvin leads the team with 165 blocks this season, which ranks her No. 13 in the NCAA in blocks per set (1.45). Colvin also has 252 kills and 42 aces.
About the Cards
The No. 2 seeded Cardinals head into the NCAA tournament on an 18-match win streak, finishing the regular season 26-2 and 17-1 in the ACC play. Louisville is the second seed overall and is the top seed in the bottom right regional. Louisville's balanced offense is run by ACC Setter of the Year Raquel Lazaro, who has 925 assists on the year with 50 kills, 18 aces, 207 digs, and 82 blocks. The offense is led by ACC Player of the Year Claire Chaussee who has 370 kills hitting .309, 16 aces, 166 digs, and 34 blocks. ACC Defensive Player of the Year Amaya Tillman, the top blocker in the ACC with 141 blocks, adds 208 kills hitting .348, 18 aces, and 32 digs. Aiko Jones, a first team All-ACC honoree, is another key part of the offense and has 244 kills, 39 aces, 94 digs, and 92 blocks. Nena Mbonu had 140 kills and 23 blocks this season after stepping in for Anna DeBeer in the first conference match of the year. Elena Scott, who was named to the first time All-ACC, holds down the defense with 372 digs and adds 106 assists and 27 aces.
Team Rankings
As a team, Louisville is ranked first in the ACC in hitting percentage (.289) and opponent hitting percentage (.148), first in blocks (294 total) and blocks per set (3.03), second in service aces per set (1.72), and third in kills per set (13.01).
Cardinals in the ACC Rankings
Aiko Jones – 4th in service aces with 0.40 aces/set
Anna DeBeer – 3rd in service aces with 0.41 aces/set
Raquel Lazaro – 5th in assists with 9.95 assists/set
Amaya Tillman – 1st in blocks with 1.53 blocks/set, 6th in hitting % with 0.348
PK Kong – 2nd in blocks with 1.32 blocks/set
Elena Scott – 5th in digs with 3.84 digs/set
Claire Chaussee – 6th in kills with 3.81 kills/set, 7th in points with 4.16 pts/set
Phekran Kong – 3rd in blocks with 1.29 blocks/set
NCAA Team Rankings
Hitting Percentage: No. 10 (.289)
Blocks/Set: No. 2 (3.03)
Opp. Hitting Percentage: No. 6 (.148)
NCAA Individual Rankings
Amaya Tillman – No. 6 in blocks/set (1.53)
Tentative times are listed as Tennessee versus Purdue at 4 p.m. ET and Louisville versus Samford at 7 p.m. The winners of the first round will play on Saturday at 6 p.m.
How We Got Here
Louisville clinched its third straight ACC Volleyball Championship title with a 3-0 win against Notre Dame on Wednesday, Nov. 23. The Cardinals finished the regular season 26-2 and 17-1 in conference play to share the ACC title with Pittsburgh.
A Look at the Competition
Samford Bulldogs
The Samford volleyball team earned an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament with a 3-0 win over Furman to the Southern Conference Tournament Title. In his seventh season with the Bulldogs, head coach Keylor Chan has led Samford to five SoCon Tournament titles. The Bulldogs finish the regular season with a 19-12 record (11-5 SoCon) and are led by Kenya McQuirter, who was named the SoCon Tournament MVP. The outside hitter has 439 kills, 75 digs, and 41 blocks on the season. Kate Morgan, the SoCon Libero of the Year has 71 assists, 49 aces, and 514 digs on the season.
Tennessee Volunteers
Tennessee enters the tournament with an at-large bid finishing the regular season 17-13 (11-7 SEC). Led by head coach Eve Rackham Watt in her fifth season, the Volunteers make their second consecutive trip to the NCAA for the first back-to-back tournament appearance since 2011 and 2012. Tennessee is led by 6-1 senior Morgahn Fingall who has 458 kills hitting .300, 38 aces, 217 digs, and 73 blocks on the season. Ranked No. 17 in the NCAA in kills per set (4.36), Fingall was an All-SEC honoree and the SEC Scholar-Athlete of the Year. Keondreya Granberry, named to the SEC All-Freshman team, leads the Volunteers in blocking with 97 blocks and adds 140 kills hitting .323.
Purdue Boilermakers
Purdue, seeded No. 8 in the Louisville quarter, finished the season 20-10 (11-9 B1G) and earned an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament. Head Coach Dave Shondell is in his 20th year at the helm and has led Purdue to 17 NCAA Tournament berths. The Boilermakers are led by freshman Eva Hudson who is ranked No. 17 in the NCAA in points (546). The native of Indiana leads the team in kills with 480 through the season and adds 33 aces, 230 digs, and 59 blocks. Sophomore middle blocker Raven Colvin leads the team with 165 blocks this season, which ranks her No. 13 in the NCAA in blocks per set (1.45). Colvin also has 252 kills and 42 aces.
About the Cards
The No. 2 seeded Cardinals head into the NCAA tournament on an 18-match win streak, finishing the regular season 26-2 and 17-1 in the ACC play. Louisville is the second seed overall and is the top seed in the bottom right regional. Louisville's balanced offense is run by ACC Setter of the Year Raquel Lazaro, who has 925 assists on the year with 50 kills, 18 aces, 207 digs, and 82 blocks. The offense is led by ACC Player of the Year Claire Chaussee who has 370 kills hitting .309, 16 aces, 166 digs, and 34 blocks. ACC Defensive Player of the Year Amaya Tillman, the top blocker in the ACC with 141 blocks, adds 208 kills hitting .348, 18 aces, and 32 digs. Aiko Jones, a first team All-ACC honoree, is another key part of the offense and has 244 kills, 39 aces, 94 digs, and 92 blocks. Nena Mbonu had 140 kills and 23 blocks this season after stepping in for Anna DeBeer in the first conference match of the year. Elena Scott, who was named to the first time All-ACC, holds down the defense with 372 digs and adds 106 assists and 27 aces.
Team Rankings
As a team, Louisville is ranked first in the ACC in hitting percentage (.289) and opponent hitting percentage (.148), first in blocks (294 total) and blocks per set (3.03), second in service aces per set (1.72), and third in kills per set (13.01).
Cardinals in the ACC Rankings
Aiko Jones – 4th in service aces with 0.40 aces/set
Anna DeBeer – 3rd in service aces with 0.41 aces/set
Raquel Lazaro – 5th in assists with 9.95 assists/set
Amaya Tillman – 1st in blocks with 1.53 blocks/set, 6th in hitting % with 0.348
PK Kong – 2nd in blocks with 1.32 blocks/set
Elena Scott – 5th in digs with 3.84 digs/set
Claire Chaussee – 6th in kills with 3.81 kills/set, 7th in points with 4.16 pts/set
Phekran Kong – 3rd in blocks with 1.29 blocks/set
NCAA Team Rankings
Hitting Percentage: No. 10 (.289)
Blocks/Set: No. 2 (3.03)
Opp. Hitting Percentage: No. 6 (.148)
NCAA Individual Rankings
Amaya Tillman – No. 6 in blocks/set (1.53)
Players Mentioned
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/ Women's Volleyball
OH
/ Women's Volleyball
OPP
/ Women's Volleyball
MB
/ Women's Volleyball
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/ Women's Volleyball
OH
/ Women's Volleyball
L/DS
/ Women's Volleyball
MB
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